The neon jungle of Earth-Three gave way to an open plaza inside a peaceful city park. Metal benches and waste bins lined the paved square. Moonlight filtered through the bare branches of venerable oaks and elm trees, casting long shadows onto the paved pathways leading away from the plaza. Sleeping pigeons perched atop a marble statue of some forgotten Revolutionary War general, and a geyser of water rose from the center of a concrete fountain. The spray from the water felt cold against Donna’s face.
“Another Earth,” she realized. “Hopefully better than the last one.”
Jason coughed. His voice was still scratchy from the gas he’d inhaled during their fight with the Crime Society. “So where the hell are we now?”
“Earth-15,” the Monitor stated. “Gotham City.”
Right, Donna thought. Now that she had a chance to get her bearings, she recognized the familiar skyline of Jason’s hometown. Gloomy Gothic architecture mingled with modem high-rises. The corporate headquarters of Wayne Enterprises, all gleaming glass and steel, shone
like a beacon in the dark, A clock tower informed her that it was five past midnight, which explained why the park appeared to be deserted. The Bat-Signal shone brightly over the tops of the skyscrapers. Apparently this Gotham also had a Dark Knight.
“Are you sure?” Jason asked skeptically. “It looks too ... clean ”
The Monitor dismissed his objections. “Not all versions of Gotham City are as filthy and crime-ridden as your own.”
“Oh yeah?” Jason snapped. He angrily kicked over a trash can, spilling garbage onto the pavement. “Then why don’t I just make myself feel more at home?”
Donna tried to calm him. “Jason, please—”
“No, Donna!” he interrupted her. “I’m getting sick and tired of this wild-goose chase!” He wheeled about to get into'the Monitor’s face. He poked the powerful alien in the chest. “You’re a Monitor. Your people are supposed to see all and know all, but you can’t even find one guy?” To Donna’s relief, the Monitor didn’t simply obliterate Jason. “It is more complicated than you realize, human. Each Monitor is responsible for only one of the fifty-two universes, and it is forbidden for us to interfere outside our jurisdiction.” He glanced around apprehensively, as though half expecting to face the judgment of his peers at any moment. “I watched over only your own world, Earth-One, This universe is under the purview of another Monitor. We should not be here.”
“But can’t you ask your fellow Monitor for assistance?” Donna inquired. “Surely he—or she—would know if Ray Palmer was here.”
The Monitor shook his head. “That would not be wise. There has been ... dissension ... amongst our ranks over such issues. Each Monitor guards his own territory zealously, and I fear we do not always see eye to eye.”
“But if you explained the importance of our mission,” Donna pressed him, “made the other Monitors understand what was at stake ... ?”
“And what would that be?” a gruff voice intruded from above. “And how does that involve my city?”
Donna looked up in surprise to see Batman—or at least, a Batman—rappelling down a length of shimmering golden rope. His scalloped black cape spread out behind him as he descended to the ground. His boots touched down lightly onto the floor of the plaza. The winged emblem on his chest matched the Bat-Signal shining overhead. He didn’t look happy.
The Dark Knight wasn’t alone either. Wonder Woman hovered in the sky above them, holding the other end of her Golden Lasso. Her star-spangled skirt, gilded breastplate, and jeweled tiara were almost identical to those Wonder Woman wore back on Earth-One. “Diana?” Donna said hesitantly before getting a closer look at the flying Amazon’s face. Her jaw dropped as she recognized the ’face as the same one she saw in the mirror everyday.
Wait a second, she thought. This world’s Wonder Woman is ... me?
Batman glared suspiciously at the Challengers. “I don’t know who—or what—you people are, but I’ll tell you this: I don’t like imposters.”
The Monitor held up his hand. “Wait. Before there is any unneeded conflict between us, I can explain our presence here.”
“Good,” Wonder Woman said. She lassoed the Monitor with the golden lariat, binding his arms to his sides. “The Lasso of Hestia will ensure that you speak the truth.”
The Monitor glanced disdainfully at his enchanted bonds. “Your primitive magicks are unnecessary. My companions and I are from a parallel version of your planet and have no intention of posing as anything other than what we are.”
“An alternate Earth?” Batman scrutinized Donna and Jason. Something about him struck Donna as slightly off. His hostile tone sounded different from that of the Batman she knew, but also strangely familiar. “Do you truly expect us to believe you?”
“Hey!” Jason blurted. “Your voice ... !”
“Sounds like mine,” Batman said, nodding grimly. “I already noticed that.”
By the gods, Donna thought as the truth sank in. That 's not Bruce Wayne; that’s another version of Jason!
The Dark Knight confronted his startled doppelganger. “Still wearing a domino mask, eh? Guess you never made the leap from sidekick to team leader.”
Jason bristled indignantly. “I don’t need a string of snot-nosed Boy Wonders traipsing after me. I’m my own man now!”
“Then you only have one person to disappoint,” Batman said.
Before the two men could go at it any further, a miniature figure suddenly appeared upon Batman’s shoulder. Glowing atomic orbitals circled the tiny figure, who grew from one inch to doll-sized in a matter of seconds. Donna’s heart leapt in excitement. It’s the Atom, she thought. We’ve found him!
Her momentary jubilation evaporated, however, as she realized that this Atom was a woman. Springing from Batman’s shoulder, the brightly costumed heroine landed on the ground before them. Her red and blue uniform matched the other Atom’s, right down to the stylized atomic insignia on the forehead of her hood, but her long blonde ponytail and feminine figure made it abundantly clear that she was not Ray Palmer. The shimmering orbitals faded from view as she assumed normal human proportions. She seemed thrilled by the Monitor’s revelation.
“I knew there was a multiverse!” she enthused. “I’ve been trying to prove its existence since I was five.” She eagerly approached the bound Monitor. “How did you make it through the interdimensional barrier?”
“Never mind that,” Batman said. “Why are you here?” Donna stepped forward. “We’re trying to find a friend. He’s our Earth’s version of the Atom.”
‘There’s another me out there?” the female Atom asked.
She sounded a few years younger than the rest of them. “Fascinating!”
Jason looked her over dubiously. “This chick is your Atom? What is she, twelve?”
“For your information,” she replied, “I’m eighteen. Who the hell are you supposed to be, the smart-ass Robin?” Wonder Woman alighted onto the pavement. She released the Monitor from the golden lariat. “Jessica Palmer is the Atom,” she said in defense of her comrade. “She graduated from MIT at the age of eight.”
“We don’t know these people, Donna.” Batman scowled at Wonder Woman. “Stop handing out personal information.”
“Don’t be paranoid, Jason,” she rebuked him. “My lasso confirms that they’re telling the truth.”
Donna shook her head at the sight of their counterparts, whose debate had a familiar ring to it. This is like looking into a jun-house mirror.
“Even still,” Batman insisted, “why are we helping these people? I’m not convinced they know what they’re doing.”
Jason swaggered over to look his other self in the eye. He clenched his fists. “You want to test that theory?” “Don’t have to,” Batman said curtly. “I’ve already calculated it in my head. Of the three hundred possible attack sequences you might try, given the distance and environment, the outcome would be the same. You’d lose.”
He turned his back on Jason, dismissing him. Jason’s face flushed with anger. “You son of a bitch!” He lunged at Batman from behind.
But the Dark Knight was ready for him. “Attack from the rear... a sure sign of weakness.” Spinning about with blinding speed, he flung out his cloak like a matador’s cape, snaring Jason in its voluminous depths. The weighted tips of the cape smacked against Jason’s body with brutal force. Stunned and tangled within the swirling folds, Jason couldn’t stop Batman from expertly flipping him onto the pavement. The Dark Knight’s boot pressed down on Jason’s chest, pinning him to the ground. “Looks like I’m better at being you.”
Donna and Wonder Woman exchanged disgusted glances. They pulled the men apart. “If you two macho jerks are done comparing jockstrap sizes,” Donna scolded them, “maybe we can actually get down to the business of finding Ray Palmer?”
“He’s not on our Earth,” a confident voice assured her. A shadow fell over the nocturnal scenery as a soaring figure descended from the sky. A familiar red S was emblazoned on the newcomer’s bright blue chest. A matching red cape fluttered in the breeze. Flowing blonde hair spread out behind her.
“Supergirl?” Donna blurted.
“Superwoman,” Kara Zor-El corrected her. She landed lightly among them. Her costume echoed that of her celebrated cousin. She seemed older and more mature than the flighty teenage heroine Donna remembered from back home.
What is this? she wondered. The world where all us apprentices took over the family businesses? She was afraid to ask what had become of this Earth’s versions of Clark, Bruce, and Diana.
“You didn’t need to get involved in this,” Batman groused. “We were handling it on our own.”
“It’s no problem,” Superwoman said. She turned her piercing blue eyes on the Challengers. “I scanned the Earth from my Fortress in the Arctic. Your Atom is not here. I’m afraid this was a wasted trip.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Donna replied. She smiled at her own twin. “Being here is like looking into a crystal ball where all your dreams are realized.” No wonder this Gotham looked cleaner and less dangerous than its equivalent on Earth-One. “It gives one hope.”
The Monitor sighed wearily. “Sentimental musings aside, we have to go.” He adjusted the controls on his gauntlet. “We have many more Earths to search.”
Wonder Woman held up her hand. “Your quest can wait just a while longer.” She took Donna by the hand. “Sister, may I have a word alone with you?”
Puzzled, Donna glanced at Jason and the Monitor, silently requesting their indulgence. Who am I to ignore my better self? She let Wonder Woman guide her down a tree-lined path until they were out of earshot of the others. “What’s this all about?”
Wonder Woman gazed at her sympathetically. “Sister, 1 sense confusion within you, an uncertainty I myself once knew too well.” Her familiar blue eyes seemed to probe the depths of Donna’s soul. “When mighty Zeus learned his first wife, Metis, was pregnant, he consumed her lest the son she carried supplant him upon the throne of the gods. But swallowing Metis caused Zeus great suffering. To rid himself of the pain, he instructed Hephaestus to split open his head... and from that wound was bom Athena, goddess of wisdom. Ultimately, Athena was the only one of Zeus’s many offspring that he entrusted with his magic shield and the secret of his lightning bolts.” What’s she getting at? Donna wondered. “I’m familiar with the story.”
“My point,” Wonder Woman answered, “is not to mold your life around what you believe others expect. If you are indeed destined to become the Wonder Woman of your world, then you will be.”
“But you don’t understand,” Donna protested, revealing hidden doubts that she would have never dared divulge to anyone except, well, herself. “I have no real past of my own. I was magically created from a fragment of the real Diana's soul, when she was just a child. I sprang into existence from out of nowhere.”
Wonder Woman smiled slyly. “Then you have much in common with Athena.”
Oh. Donna had never really thought about it like that before. She wasn’t sure quite how to respond. I guess Athena did all right for herself, despite her unorthodox origins.
“All right, ladies. Time’s up.” Jason barged into the discussion. He nodded back toward the plaza. “Mister Monitor is getting restless, and if I hear him mutter about the Great Disaster one more time, I’m going to kill him... and then we’ll be stuck here for good.”
Wonder Woman did not object to the interruption. “Indeed, I must not delay your quest any further. My thanks for your patience.” She took Donna’s hand again. “I hope my words will provide you with some comfort in the days to come.”
“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” Donna admitted. She gave her twin’s hand a grateful squeeze. “Thank you.”
They followed Jason back to the plaza, where the Monitor and this Earth’s heroes awaited them. Now Barbiesized, the female Atom teased Batman as she perched upon hi§ shoulder once more. “Admit it, Jason. Doesn’t it make you feel better to know that Bruce is still alive somewhere in another incarnation?”
“It makes no difference to me,” he said tersely. “Uh-huh.” She placed her miniature palm beneath his chin. “Let’s see, sudden intake of breath, slight increase in heart rate, and an almost imperceptible catch in the voice.. T She chuckled in amusement. “Once a Boy Wonder, always a Boy Wonder, eh?”
Was it just Donna’s imagination, or was Batman actually blushing?
“Can it, Tinkerbell,” he growled.
The Monitor gestured for Donna and Jason to join him. “Are we quite ready to depart?” He keyed the coordinates of another Earth into his gauntlet. “I hope you will not feel obliged to indulge in such time-consuming social activities at every continuum we visit. The fate of worlds without end may depend—”
Before he could finish his familiar admonition, a blinding golden glow lit up the night. “Uh-oh,” Jason muttered. “I don’t like the looks of this.”
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Donna’s eyes widened in surprise as a second Monitor emerged from the transporter beam. Ignoring the various heroes present, he regarded his kinsman with obvious disapproval. His voice was stem and unforgiving.
“Brother, this ends now.”
R heavy manhole cover clanged against the asphalt as Jimmy climbed up out of the sewers. Exhausted by his escape from the underground laboratory, he found himself back in Suicide Slum again. He was sore and tired and smelled like an open latrine, but at least he was human once more. His freakish metamorphoses and runaway powers had receded once he’d gotten far enough away from Project Cadmus’s probes and scanners. Mercifully, his brain no longer felt like it was threatening to burst his skull. He was just plain old Jimmy Olsen again, if only for the moment.
That’s good enough for me, he thought. Right now he just wanted to get back to his apartment and take the world’s longest shower. Swimming through sewage was not his idea of a good time. I only hope I didn ’t wreck that lab too much before I slipped down the drain. Maybe I should write Serling an apology later on, once I’m feeling a little less disgusting.
However, before he could go home and clean up, he needed to find something to wear. Rummaging through a
Dumpster behind the neighborhood mission, he found a faded green T-shirt and a grimy pair of jeans. The clothes were a few sizes too big and weren’t likely to land him on Metropolis’s best-dressed list, but he figured they’d do in a pinch. The last thing he needed this afternoon was to get picked up for indecent exposure. He felt uncomfortably exposed without his signal-watch, which he had left behind at Cadmus, but he could always ask Superman for a spare the next time he saw him.
He wriggled into the T-shirt and was just pulling on the jeans when, abrapdy, an ominous shadow fell over him, accompanied by a loud buzzing noise. “There you are!” a voice announced from above. “I have found you at last!” Yikes! Jimmy thought. What now?
An insectoid figure swooped down from the sky. Three pairs of scaly white wings flared out behind her. An ovoid helJnet and body armor, made of a glossy chitinous material, protected the intruder but failed to disguise her feminine curves. Twin antennae sprouted from small openings in her crimson helmet. Her hard white exoskeleton concealed whatever softness might lie beneath the armor. Polished opals adorned her boots, belt, and gauntlets, and amber lenses in her faceplate hid her eyes.
“Who?” Jimmy blurted. As far as he knew, he had never seen this alien apparition before. “That is, whatT
With one leg in, one leg out of his jeans, he stumbled backward and turned to flee. Gloved fingers grabbed on to his collar with surprising strength. Mighty wings flapped furiously above him, and his bare feet lost contact with the pavement. Holding on to Jimmy with just one hand, the female insectoid soared upward into the clear blue sky, rapidly leaving the squalid alley behind. Jimmy held on to the loose jeans tightly as he dangled helplessly above the city. Within seconds, he was hundreds of feet in the air.
“Do not resist, Earth-bug,” his captor admonished him. Her voice had a buzzing quality, like a fly or a honeybee. Jimmy guessed that she wasn’t from around here, and he didn’t mean Metropolis.
“D~don’t make me hurt you, lady!” he threatened, even though none of his oddball powers had kicked in. Does that mean I’m not in serious danger yet?
“Highly unlikely,” she replied with what sounded like a trace of amusement. “Not to mention unnecessary. I merely wish to have words with you, away from any lurking shadows.”
The city’s streets and skyscrapers spread out beneath them like an incredibly detailed diorama. Years of being carried aloft by Superman had largely inured Jimmy to such heights, yet the stranger’s precarious hold on his collar left him praying that she didn’t have butterfingers. Would his new powers save him if he plummeted toward the ground? He was in no hurry to find out. “Who are you anyway?”
“Call me Forager,” she declared over the steady hum-hiing of her wings, “for it is my sacred duty to seek out answers and bring home the truth.”
Forager? Jimmy had once known another being by that name: a humanoid insect from New Genesis, home of the New Gods. His people, “the bugs,” dwelt in vast colonies beneath the surface of the planet, far below the floating palaces of the New Gods, who largely regarded the humble bugs with disdain. Despite his lowly status, however, the original Forager had often fought beside Superman and the New Gods in order to defend his people from Darkseid’s insidious schemes. According to Superman, he had died saving the cosmos a few years ago.
So who was this new Forager? Did she also hail from New Genesis? Obviously, she wasn’t the same bug, returned to life. The first Forager had been male, while, judging from her shapely thorax, his replacement was clearly female....
Flying swiftly through the sky, she carried Jimmy downtown toward the Daily Planet Building. A large bronze replica of the planet Earth rotated slowly atop the landmark structure. Jimmy let out a sigh of relief as Forager dropped him lightly onto the roof of the building. The familiar globe
CBUNTMiVli 14!
was a reassuring sight. Whatever happened next, at least he was back where he belonged. Chances were, Clark, Lois, and Perry were only a few stories below. Unless they were out on assignment, of course. He wished again that he had hung on to his signal-watch.
Forager alighted onto the roof, facing Jimmy. “I know the question that bums in your mind right now.”
“You do?” Although tempted to bolt for the stairs, Jimmy decided to hear her out. The fact that his powers hadn’t manifested yet suggested that the stranger meant him no harm. He chose to take that as an encouraging sign.
“Of course,” she replied. Her wings folded in behind her. “In a city of millions, why did I single you out?” “Actually, I’m mostly wondering if I can put my pants on.”
' She ignored the quip, even though he was only half joking. “I require your help, Jimmy Olsen.”
“You know me?” he asked.
She nodded grimly while he finished dressing. The stomach-turning stench emanating from his person didn’t seem to bother her; perhaps her olfactory senses worked differently? Or maybe her helmet just kept the smell out. “The New Gods are being hunted by an unknown assassin.” “Yeah, I’m sorta working that story.” Forager had to be from New Genesis, he figured, if she was investigating the murders of Lightray and Sleez. “Anyone new bite the dust?” ' ‘
“Barda of Apokolips,” she stated.
Jimmy’s heart sank. “Big Barda’s dead?” Although raised on hellish Apokolips, the statuesque warrior woman had rebelled against Darkseid and forged a new life as a super heroine here on Earth, fighting alongside her husband, Mister Miracle. Jimmy couldn’t imagine how devastated Scott Free must be right now; he and Barda had loved each other fiercely. “Aww, no! That’s awfull”
“Far worse is the crux of the problem,” Forager said coolly. Jimmy guessed that she hadn’t known Barda
personally. “Bad enough that their bodies are slain, but the souls of the murdered gods are lost. Could they have been spirited away by the assassin? Are they being held hostage even now, denied their rightful place beyond the Source Wall?” " '
Jimmy suddenly remembered the holographic wall that had materialized while he was being examined at Cadmus earlier, as well as the gaping holes in the chests of Light-ray and Sleez. Had Barda’s heart been missing as well? All these mysteries were connected somehow, he realized, but, just like the Joker had taunted him, he still couldn’t see the big picture yet.
Maybe Forager held the missing pieces of the puzzle? “J immy Olsen,” she addressed him solemnly, “you have had more contact with the New Gods than any other Earth-bug. Furthermore, you have been present at the deaths of ' two of the victims. I humbly request that you join my search for the missing souls. It may be the single most important quest our worlds will ever know.”
He had no idea how to respond to a plea like that. “I, um ... I mean ... I’ve kinda got a lot of my own stuff going these days....”
“This is more important than the needs of any single being,” she insisted, refusing to let him off the hook. “Whoever stole those souls is now in possession of a power the likes of which could destroy all of reality and bring about the creation of the Fifth World!”
Jimmy was aware that the mythology of New Genesis held that the birth of the New Gods had heralded the dawn of the Fourth World, although he had always been a little fuzzy on what exactly the previous three Worlds had been. “Oh man, you mean the end of the world... ”
Honestly, an impending cosmic crisis was way more than he had bargained for. At the moment, he was tired and filthy and wanted nothing so much as to go home and veg out for a while. Let the Justice League or the Teen Titans assist Forager on her quest. He just wanted the universe to leave him alone for a few hours. Was that too much to ask?
On the other hand, he recalled guiltily, hadn’t he just told Serling Roquette that he was tired of only being Superman’s sidekick, that he craved some grand destiny of his own? And hadn’t he insisted to Robin that he was eager to use his enigmatic new abilities to help people? Well, Olsen, here’s the opportunity you were waiting for. Are you ready to put your money where your mouth is?
“Okay, Forager,” he agreed, “This is what I wanted to sign up for, so I’m in.” He nodded decisively. “I’m your man.”
Although maybe they could swing by his apartment first, for a quick shower, a change of clothes, and a snack? He hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast....
“Excellent.” Her helmet concealed her expression, but he could tell she was pleased. All six wings vibrated enthusiastically. “Let’s not waste any time.”
Before he could suggest a detour, she pressed one of the translucent gemstones on her gauntlet. Apparently the studs were more than decorative; a deafening blast, like a sonic boom, only louder, preceded the appearance of a circular portal through time and space. A brilliant white light issued from the shimmering vortex, which hovered in the air before Jimmy, who immediately recognized it as a Boom Tube, a means of interstellar transport used exclusively by the New Gods and their allies. Advanced alien circuitry far beyond mortal comprehension lined the inner walls of the tube, which seemed to stretch endlessly toward some unknown destination elsewhere in the cosmos. Via Boom Tubes, even distant New Genesis and Apokolips could be reached in a matter of seconds.
“Wait a minute!” he protested. “You haven’t even told me where we’re going yet!”
But Forager was in too much of a rush to explain. Placing a palm against his back, she shoved him through the portal into the intense white light, then dived through after him. The incandescent gateway dilated shut behind her.
A second boom thundered atop the Daily Planet Building, causing pedestrians several stories below to gaze up at the cloudless sky in confusion. The portal blinked out of existence, leaving only fading echoes behind. Attracted by the staggered blasts, Lois Lane came charging up onto the roof, eager to uncover the source of the noise. “Hello?” she called out curiously. “Is anyone there?”
No one answered.
The roof was empty.
' Zatanna’s magical incantation instantly transported her and Mary from the deck of the Lemaris to the front yard of a creepy Gothic mansion hidden away in the woods. Spiked turrets rose from the looming stone walls. Batwinged gargoyles perched upon the battlements. Majestic columns and gabled arches adorned its brooding facade. Gray slate shingles seemed to swallow up the moonlight. A winding stairway, guarded by two stone griffins, led up to the imposing front entrance. No light escaped the mansion’s shuttered windows. The somber edifice looked completely dark.
“Welcome to Shadowcrest,” Zatanna said.
Mary took in the eerie scenery. With the cruise ship’s tour cut short by Slig’s attack, Zatanna had graciously offered to tutor Mary in the privacy of the magician’s home. A chill in the air made it clear that they weren’t in the tropics anymore. The Bat-Signal, shining in the distance, revealed that the woods were somewhere outside Gotham. “I’m confused,” Mary said. “I thought you lived in San Francisco?”
“I do, most of the time.” Zatanna led Mary up the stone stairway. A demonic face, complete with curved horns,
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was carved into the pediment above the front door, Mary thought it bore an uncomfortable resemblance to Pharyngula. “This is my father’s estate, where I grew up.” Mary recalled that Zee’s dad, the Great Zatara, had also mixed showbiz with crime fighting. He had died saving the world several years ago. “I still use the place as a getaway when I need to relax.”
A lamp flicked on overhead, illuminating the front porch. A booming voice startled Mary, who nearly jumped out of her boots. “WHO GOES THERE?” ' "
“Hang on,” Zatanna said. “I’ve gotta give the password.” She faced the ponderous oak doors. “‘Hi, I’ve brought some literature. Can I share the Good Word with you?”’ Mary raised an eyebrow. “That’s your password?”
“It is today.” Zatanna winked mischievously. “There’s a bit of voice recognition involved too.”
' In any event, the unlikely phrase did the trick. The heavy doors swung open with a rusty squeak. A butler, whose cadaverous features made Dr. Sivana look like the Big Red Cheese, greeted them. “Very good, madam. Welcome.”
Holding aloft a lit candelabra, he led them into a spacious foyer, where Mary was surprised to find an entire crew of uniformed menservants, maids, and housekeepers standing at attention. Intricate tapestries and oil paintings hung upon polished wood-paneled walls. Spotless marble tiles added to the elegance of the stately entry hall. A sweeping staircase ascended majestically toward the upper reaches of Shadowcrest.
Mary was impressed. “You must be loaded to be able to maintain a staff like this at a place where you don’t even spend much time.”
“I do all right.” Zatanna chuckled. She snapped her fingers and a crystal chandelier lit up the foyer. “But not that well. The truth is, these servants are just magical manifestations of the house. They’re only around when I need them.” She dismissed the servants with a wave of her hand. “Ffats ekat a kaerb!”
Mary’s eyes widened as the entire retinue evaporated into thin air. “Pretty neat!” she enthused. “And they’ll just come back whenever you summon them?”
“That’s right,” Zatanna said. “It’s really pretty basic magic, Mary. The kind you’ll be able to do when you’re ready.”
Sounds good to me, Mary thought, eager to explore her new abilities, although she wasn’t quite sure what Zee meant about having to be “ready” first. After the way she had turned all those sea monsters back into people aboard the cruise ship, Mary figured she was ready right now. All I need is a little fine-tuning.
Lamps and candles flared up along their way as Zatanna led Mary up the main stairway, then guided her guest through the sprawling mansion, which was packed with antique furniture, eye-catching artwork, and fascinating souvenirs. Framed vaudeville posters of Houdini. Zatara, Sargon the Sorcerer, Carter the Great, and other legendary stage magicians adorned the walls. Medieval suits of armor stood guard along a palatial corridor that seemed to go on for miles. Flickering shadows danced across the dark wooden wainscoting.
“Totally amazing.” Mary complimented Zee on her home. “This place looked huge on the outside, but I swear it didn’t look this big.”
Zatanna grinned. “Yep, this house has lots of surprises.” She gestured down the hall. “Next stop on the tour is the library. It’s just down here.”
“But what are all these other rooms?” Mary asked, consumed by curiosity. A closed door inscribed with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics caught her eye. An open sarcophagus, propped up beside the door, held what appeared to be a genuine Egyptian mummy. Lengths of musty linen were wrapped around the mummy’s stationary form. Its withered hands gripped a gleaming bronze scimitar. Papery brown skin peeked through the bandages over its face.
Given that her new powers derived from the bygone gods of the Nile, Mary was naturally intrigued. She reached for the doorknob. “You’ve only shown me a fraction of—”
“Mary, wait!” Zatanna called out in alarm.
The mummy’s shriveled eyelids snapped open. Springing to life with surprising speed, he swung the scimitar between the door and Mary, driving her back. The blade missed her by inches, so close that she could feel the breeze generated by its passage. A voice as dry as the desert sands shouted at her in a dead language. His breath reeked of tanna leaves.
“Yow!" Mary exclaimed.
“Thanks, Hassan. It’s all right,” Zatanna said, calling the mummy off. He settled back into his sarcophagus. She took Mary by the elbow and gently escorted her away from the door in question. “You’re not ready for some rooms yet, Mary.”
’ “O-okay.” Mary looked back over her shoulder at the Egyptian door and its undead guardian. Her racing heart, which had gone into overdrive when the sword-wielding mummy surprised her, slowly settled back down. Although embarrassed by the incident, she couldn’t help wondering what exactly Zatanna was hiding behind those hieroglyphics—and why she wasn’t willing to share that secret. What else is she keeping from you? a suspicious voice asked inside Mary. Why does she keep insisting you’re not ready?
“As I was saying,” Zatanna continued, “the library ..
A pair of double doors opened by themselves, admitting the two women into an astonishingly large private library. Packed bookcases, several feet taller than either Mary or Zatanna. lined the walls. Antique desks and plush chairs offered comfortable locales for reading and research. A spiral staircase led up to a mezzanine. Candles ignited in the chandeliers overhead; it took Mary a moment to realize that the chandeliers were actually floating in the air, unsupported by any chains or hooks. A fireplace roared to life in one comer, casting a rosy glow on a nearby suit of armor. A stuffed dragon’s head was mounted over the fireplace. An oval mirror, in a gilded filigreed frame, hung above a glass display case, and picture windows looked out over the moonlit estate below. Mary felt as though she had accidentally stumbled into Hogwarts. “Wow,” she whispered.
The abundant shelves were crammed with books, scrolls, clay tablets, and other documents. Mary was slightly overwhelmed by the sheer size of the collection. Wandering over to the nearest bookcase, she scanned the spines of various leather-bound grimoires, demonologies, memoirs, bestiaries, and other esoteric volumes. Her finger reverently traced the titles on their spines: The Book of Fate, The Arion Chronicles, Chaos & Order, The Morpheus Prophecies, The Journals of Lady Johanna Constantine. ...
“Some of these books look like they’re centuries old,” she said in an appropriately hushed tone. “I don’t even recognize a few of these languages.”
“That’s because they’re not human languages,” Zatanna explained. “And most of those books go back a lot farther than hundreds of years. My family has been collecting them for a looong time.”
Mary remembered hearing somewhere that Zee was supposedly descended from Leonardo da Vinci, as well as from a secretive race of sorcerers known as the homo magi. A framed photo of Zatanna’s late mother, Sindella Zatara, occupied a place of honor upon the fireplace mantel. The beautiful blonde sorceress had perished while defending her daughter from her fellow wizards. An orphan herself, Mary sympathized with Zee’s loss.
“You could say this is my Batcave,” Zatanna said, showing her guest around the library. “I study here, brainstorm here, practice here.”
A glass display case attracted Mary’s attention. Inside the case was an impressive collection of mystical artifacts. Charms, crystals, amulets, orbs, rings, scarabs, masks, icons, dolls, fetishes, wands, and other talismans rested beneath a clear pane of glass, atop a sheet of black velvet.
COISITIISIWN 1*8
“Look at all of these,” Mary burbled, gazing at the collection like a kid in a candy store. She hadn’t seen a display like this since the Spectre had trashed the Rock of Eternity during his epic battle with Shazam. The wizard’s own collection, accumulated over the course of millennia, had been hopelessly scattered by the ghost’s insane rampage. Maybe some of those missing artifacts had ended up here?
“There’s enough magical energy in that case alone,” Zatanna said proudly, “to do pretty much anything you can imagine.”
Mary could believe it. She felt the talismans’ sorcerous potential calling out to her, even through the thick glass sheet. Just her proximity to such power gave her goose bumps. “It must be wonderful to have so much power at your command.” She bet Zee had never been chased through the streets by a pack of ignorant skinheads. “Just wonderful. . .”
“It’s also a big responsibility,” Zatanna insisted. Walking over to a sagging bookshelf, she gathered an armload of dusty tomes and dropped them onto a waiting desk. “Here, these should get you started.” She beckoned to Mary. “We’ll start with the basics, then work our way up to more challenging material.”
Mary hesitated, unable to tear herself away from the case of mystically charged trinkets and tchotchkes. It was hard to get enthused about poring through piles of moldy old books when all these delectable toys were right at her fingertips, just waiting to be played with. It was a crime to let them just sit there, gathering dust. “Can’t we test-drive some of these?”
“In time,” Zatanna promised. “But only after you’ve mastered the fundamentals.” She blew a layer of dust off a slender volume. “Handing you such talismans now would be like giving a loaded gun to a child.”
Child? The magician’s patronizing tone pushed all the wrong buttons. “I am not a child!” Mary snarled. Her temper combusted. How dare Zatanna treat her like some inexperienced kid? Had she forgotten who exactly had saved all those people on the Lemarisl “If you think these stupid books are so great, you read them!”
Lightning leapt from her fingertips, zapping the stacked volumes, which abruptly took fiight. Flapping their covers noisily, the airborne books swarmed Zatanna like pigeons descending on bread crumbs. She anxiously batted them away with her hands.
"Skoob pots ginylf! ”
The disenchanted tomes rained down onto the floor, but Mary had already found something better to do. Her fist smashed through the glass protecting Zatanna’s trophies. Blue flames flashed momentarily as her innate magical strength overcame whatever protective wards Zatanna had placed over the display case. Her eager fingers closed around a particularly tempting prize: a crystal-studded At-lantean scepter that positively reeked of magic.
“Ooooh ..Mary gasped as an ecstatic rush of energy thrilled her senses. Her skin tingled all over. Her hairs stood up on end. “No wonder you wanted to keep this for yourself.” Unable to contain the wand’s intense preternatural force, she started throwing off sparks of raw magical energy. Phantom winds whipped her hair into a frenzy. “So much power...”
“Mary, no!” Zatanna shouted in alarm. “You can’t cut loose like that in here. It’s like tossing a match into a tin-derbox!”
A stray spark animated the suit of armor, which started clanking across the floor. The mounted dragon’s head roared and breathed fire, the bright orange flames singeing the spines of the nearest books.
The power of the scepter, joined to Mary’s own gods-given might, intoxicated her. She raised the wand high above her head, glorying in the rapturous sensation. “I came to you for help, Zatanna,” she accused the other woman. “I thought you were on my side. Why would you keep these things from me?”
She’s jealous of you, an inner voice answered her. Jealous of what you cart become!
Of course. That was the only explanation that made sense.
“That’s enough!” Zatanna said crossly. She held out her hand. “Retpecs emoc ot em! ”
An unseen force snatched the wand from Mary’s hand. “Hey!” she protested as the precious talisman, and all its irresistible magic, returned to Zatanna. Mary felt as though she had been dashed with a bucket of cold water. Talk about a buzzkill!
She glared furiously at Zatanna. Lightning flashed in her eyes. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
But Zatanna didn’t seem to care what Mary thought. “You know,” she said, a severe expression on her face, “I ^thought that you might be some sort of sorcerous savant, b'ut it turns out you’re just a brat.” She brandished the glowing scepter. “And you’re about to get spanked!”
You wish, Mary thought spitefully. She lusted for the power she had just known. An insatiable hunger gnawed at her very core. She launched herself at Zatanna, determined to wrest the scepter from the other woman’s treacherous clutches. For all she knew, Zee had stolen the wand from the wizard in the first place. “You give that back! It belongs to me now!”
“Cigam reirrab tcetorp em!”
When she had to, Zatanna could talk faster than a New Yorker on a caffeine high. A hastily erected bubble of pale blue energy shielded her from Mary’s initial attack, but the enraged super heroine had only just begun to fight for what she considered rightfully hers. Her gloved fists pounded relentlessly against the infuriating force field. Magical shock waves knocked Zatanna to the floor inside her bubble. “Mary, stop!” she pleaded. “What’s come over you?”
Maybe I’ve finally caught on to the truth, Mary thought venomously, that you ’re no different from Billy or Madame Xanadu. You all want to keep me weak and helpless and docile. Lightning flashed whenever her knuckles collided with Zatanna’s protective shields. Well, to hell with that!
Her fists smashed into the floor as the bubble instantly blinked out of existence, taking Zatanna with it. For a moment, Mary thought that her opponent had retreated from the fight entirely, then she heard Zatanna reappear several feet behind her. The resourceful sorceress counterattacked by summoning a Middle Eastern-looking brass lamp from a bookshelf.
“Eineg eruces reh, tub od on mrcth!”
Like something out of the Arabian Nights, a djinn steamed out of the lamp. Swirling purple vapors materialized into a muscular figure with dark indigo skin, pointed ears, and scorching red eyes. His jet-black hair was pulled back in a topknot, and a black goatee added to his Me-phistophelian appearance, as did his arched black eyebrows. A golden hoop pierced his left ear, and gleaming copper wristbands girded his powerful arms. Tattooed arabesques covered his bare chest, which dissolved into smoke below the waist. He laughed heartily, relishing his freedom from the lamp.
Stealing tricks from Aladdin, are we? Mary thought. I’m not impressed.
The genie seized Mary from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. His tight embrace would have crushed any ordinary girl. He chuckled lecherously in her ear, his spicy breath smelling of sandalwood and cinnamon.
“Luferac!” Zatanna reminded the djinn. “T’nod truh reh! ”
Mary snickered at the other woman’s restraint. “Treating me with kid gloves? Big mistake, Zee.” She slammed the back of her head into the genie’s face. Cursing in ancient Arabic, he loosened his grip long enough for Mary to grab on to his wrists with both hands and yank them apart. Whirling around, she tore into the djinn without mercy. Mystic energy crackled around her as she ripped the genie into fragmented wisps of smoke; it felt like tearing apart a wad of flimsy cotton candy. The genie’s agonized scream echoed throughout the library. “I’m playing for keeps!”
“Ali!” Zatanna gasped. The empty lamp dropped onto the floor.
Mary turned on Zatanna. “You really had me fooled, Zee! I thought we were friends. Why even bring me here, huh? To steal the power Black Adam gave me?” Her voice rose in anger. “To put me into one of your trophy cases?”
She tackled Zatanna head-on, slamming Zee into the bookcase behind her. The sturdy shelves wobbled precariously, and an avalanche of weighty tomes crashed down on Zatanna, knocking her to the floor. Half-buried beneath her own library, the dazed magician struggled to climb out from beneath the disorderly heap of books. “Mary ... please,” she whispered groggily. “You have to stop this....”
“Don’t worry, Zee,” Mary answered. Her boots levitated above the carpet as she gazed down at the battered sorceress. “It’ll be over before you know it!” Then nothing would come between her and all the power Zatanna had selfishly hoarded away. It’s all so obvious now, Mary realized. She never actually intended to teach me anything. She wanted to keep all this magic to herself. Mary’s eyes literally glowed with malice. She couldn’t stand that I was becoming more powerful than her....
Mary decided to give Zatanna a taste of what she envied. Tapping into her anger, she flung a magical thunderbolt at her so-called mentor. The jolt wouldn’t kill Zee, but it might make her wish that it had. In any event, she would be in no shape to stop Mary from sampling the rest of the library’s many occult treasures.
But, to Mary’s surprise, Zatanna wasn’t quite down for the count yet. Throwing up her hands to shield herself, she spat out a hasty incantation.
“Yram, kool ta eht rorrim!’’
As though possessed of a mind of its own, the gilt-framed
mirror dived to its mistress’s defense, sliding between Mary and her foe. The unleashed lightning bolt struck the silvered glass—and bounced back at Mary herself. Thunder boomed inside the trashed library as lightning crashed against the startled heroine, changing her back into ordinary Mary Batson!
Wha—?
The unexpected transformation disoriented Mary. Her murderous rage vanished with her powers. The impact of the reflected thunderbolt catapulted her backward toward the picture window.
Zatanna took immediate advantage of the situation. “Swodniw nepo! ”
Glass panes swung open obediently, and Mary went hurtling through the cold air outside the mansion. Zatanna must have given the lightning a little extra oomph, since Mary ' went sailing over the spiked fence surrounding the estate, finally crashing to earth in the grassy clearing beyond. She hit the ground hard.
Groaning, she climbed to her feet. No longer invulnerable, she felt sore all over. Her plain old jacket and jeans failed to keep out the chill of the evening. Mary shook her head in confusion, trying to figure out just how things had gone so wrong so fast. She stared in dismay at her fists. What was I doing?
Anxious to apologize, she ran up to the wrought iron gate of Shadowcrest. No surprise, it refused to open for her. “Zatanna, please!” she called out, hoping the other woman could hear her. “Let me explain!”
“Mary Batson.” To her surprise, the iron bars of the gate twisted themselves into a rough approximation of a mouth. A rusty voice issued from the gate. “For violation of basic etiquette and decorum, and for acting in a generally nasty, evil manner, you are hereby banished from Shadowcrest henceforth.” A heavy layer of fog billowed up from the ground, concealing the mansion entirely. “Do not bother to attempt to find this place, as it shall remain hidden from you forevermore.”
The spreading fog swallowed up the gates as well as Zatanna’s lavish estate, which vanished into the mists like Brigadoon. Mary ran forward into the clammy dampness of the fog. “Wait!” she cried out desperately. “1 didn’t know what I was doing. This power... it’s too much for me!” She reached out for the gate, but her groping fingers encountered nothing but empty mist, which quickly wafted away, taking Shadowcrest with it. Mary found herself alone in the shadowy woods, seemingly miles away from the nearest habitation. An owl hooted in the skeletal tree branches overheard.
“Please, Zatanna! I need your help! Just give me a second chance ... please!”
The owl hooted in response.